This invention relates to method and apparatus for conditioning air and water and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus specifically designed to condition the air and water of an indoor swimming pool system.
Indoor swimming pool systems require several conditioning operations. Specifically, the enclosure air must be heated or cooled; the enclosure air must be dehumidified; and the pool water must be heated or cooled. Many systems have been proposed for providing these several conditioning requirements for an indoor swimming pool system.
In one such prior art system, air is condinuously exhausted from the enclosure to eliminate the humid enclosure air, fresh makeup air is provided on a continuing basis, and a separate electric or fossil fuel heater is provided to heat the pool water. This is a very energy inefficient system since a large amount of the energy required to heat the fresh incoming air is rejected to the atmosphere.
In an attempt to improve the energy efficiency of indoor pool conditioning systems, it has been proposed to provide an air to air heat pump employing two air coils with one air coil functioning to cool and dehumidify the enclosure air and the second coil functioning to reheat the air prior to its reintroduction into the enclosure. Such an apparatus, however, cannot provide the entire heat required to make up for the heat losses of the enclosure and consequently must be used as an adjunct to an existing heating system.
Different combinations of water to air heat pumps have also been proposed in which the circulation of the refrigerant is divided between two or more condensers. These systems, besides dehumidifying the air, provide a partial heating of the pool water and a partial reheating of the enclosure air but do not cover the heat losses of the enclosure and, as in the case of the air to air heat pump systems, require an additional system to heat the enclosure air.
It is also been proposed to provide two water to air heat pumps. The enclosure air is cooled and heated through the two air coils and the pool water is circulated in parallel through the two water coils where it is cooled or heated and mixed to provide a slight increase in water temperature. This system is relatively energy efficient but is limited in its dehumidifying capacity.